The results of the first round of the 2026 municipal election are available throughout France. The first polls for the second round have already been published, with an alternation entirely possible for Paris.
16:18 – LFI and the PS “think the same thing” believes Marine Le Pen
Table of Contents
- 16:18 – LFI and the PS “think the same thing” believes Marine Le Pen
- 15:18 – RN candidate Franck Allisio refuses a 3-way debate in Marseille
- 15:12 – In Bordeaux, what position for Dessertine after his withdrawal?
- 15:08 – Why did the outgoing mayor of Rennes refuse the alliance with LFI?
- The municipal results map
- 15:03 – Chikirou will take part in the debate with Dati and Grégoire, this Wednesday evening
- 11:34 – Emmanuel Macron denounces “party arrangements”
“The real question is ‘Is there still a left that is not extreme left?’ I doubt it (…) I don’t believe that it was exclusively the search for the lentil dish that pushed a whole series of socialists in the big cities to form an alliance with La France insoumise. I think that fundamentally, they think the same thing,” Marine Le Pen declared this Wednesday about the LFI-PS alliances before the second round of municipal elections, during a press conference in Billy-Montigny (Pas-de-Calais).
15:18 – RN candidate Franck Allisio refuses a 3-way debate in Marseille
In Marseille, National Rally (RN) candidate Franck Allisio refused a three-way debate on France 2 tomorrow evening. For him, Martine had “strictly no chance” of being elected. The team of Benoît Payan, also a socialist candidate in Marseille, criticizes the decision of the member of the flame party: “refusing debate is refusing democracy”, he said in a press release. “By choosing to flee this essential moment, the RN candidate reveals a simple thing: he is afraid,” the document also indicates.
15:12 – In Bordeaux, what position for Dessertine after his withdrawal?
After announcing his withdrawal from the mayoral race, Philippe Dessertine, who came third in the first round in Bordeaux, does not call for voting for any of the two candidates still in the running, believing that “each citizen has the capacity to think what his vote should be”, we can read in the columns of the daily The World. Again Monday evening, he hoped that Bordeaux would not be “the last city to have a Macronist mayor”. “I still think so,” he assured Tuesday evening.
15:08 – Why did the outgoing mayor of Rennes refuse the alliance with LFI?
“I do not believe at all in these technical mergers, which are not fundamentally left alliances but electoral alliances where we all find ourselves on the same list and then be some in the majority, others in the opposition,” explains the outgoing mayor of Rennes, Nathalie Appéré, during a televised debate with the two other candidates still in the running. As a reminder, she refused any alliance with LFI, the rebellious list having come in third position in the first round with 18.61% of the votes and had asked the socialist for an agreement.
15:03 – Chikirou will take part in the debate with Dati and Grégoire, this Wednesday evening
Turnaround concerning the debate scheduled for this Wednesday evening between Rachida Dati and Emmanuel Grégoire four days before the second round of the municipal elections in Paris. Initially, the rebellious candidate Sophia Chikirou – also qualified for the second round – was excluded from the debate, which triggered a real outcry among the rebellious. Finally, she will take part in the debate on the news channel from 9 p.m., as announced by BFMTV this afternoon.
1:31 p.m. – The sixth of the first round, without a label, joins François Bayrou in Pau
In Pau, the candidate without label Philippe Arraou, who came sixth in the first round of the municipal elections in Pau (6.15%), joined François Bayrou’s list. Philippe Arraou, a 72-year-old accountant who led a citizens’ list, was a municipal councilor in Lons (2008-2020) under the MoDem banner. Arriving 6th on Sunday with 6.15% of the votes (1,610 votes), he joined with four of his running mates Mr. Bayrou’s list, in which he will occupy fifth place, according to information collected by Agence France-Presse, this Wednesday, March 18.
13:27 – Retailleau clarifies his remarks, but still does not support Estrosi in Nice
After announcing not to support Horizons candidate Christian Estrosi in Nice against Eric Ciotti (UDR-RN), the president of LR, Bruno Retailleau, clarified his remarks on “LR concluded a national agreement with Horizons which led to the designation of Dominique Estrosi as leader of our movement in Christian Estrosi’s campaign. This agreement was not called into question,” he specifies.
11:56 – The meeting program this Wednesday, March 18
According to information from AFP, several meetings are planned for this Wednesday, four days before the second round of voting. In Strasbourg, socialist candidate Catherine Trautmann is holding a public meeting from 6 p.m. In Nimes, the meeting of left-wing candidate Vincent Bouget will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the Charles de Gaulle esplanade. The festivities will start at 7 p.m. near Châlons-en-Champagne for the campaign meeting of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella at the Capitole in Champagne. Finally, in Bordeaux, the meeting of Macronist candidate Thomas Cazenave at the Athénée Municipal is scheduled for 8 p.m.
11:34 – Emmanuel Macron denounces “party arrangements”
Emmanuel Macron estimated during the Council of Ministers this Wednesday that “the extremes, wherever they are, remain dangerous for the Republic”, reported government spokesperson Maud Bregeon. “He insisted on the fact that party arrangements should not overshadow certain principles,” she specifies.
11:32 – In Nice, Horizons calls on LR to “clarify their position” on Estrosi and Ciotti
The decision of the head of the Republicans, Bruno Retailleau, not to support Christian Estrosi for the second round of the municipal elections in Nice is “the most serious ambiguity, at the time of a decisive second round”, denounced Horizons in a press release. “This equidistance between the two candidates who can win is unacceptable for us,
locally and nationally. It reveals a confusion in the political line of the Republicans, already denounced by several important figures of this movement”, we can read. Horizons calls on LR to “clarify their position” and to reaffirm their wish to “fight against the extremes”.
11:17 – The “PS and LR abandon fundamental values”, regrets Gabriel Attal
“Fundamental benchmarks are disappearing. Just as millions of French leftists reject the alliance between the PS and LFI, millions of voters and local elected officials from a sincere Republican right continue to reject the extreme right. Out of personal interest, to settle scores or keep positions, the leadership of the PS and LR abandon fundamental values, validate unnatural alliances and serve as a stepping stone to the extreme right as well as the extreme left”, declares the secretary general of Renaissance, Gabriel Attal on X. “Au prix d’un spectacle affligeant laissant les Français abandonnés et désespérés par ce jeu politique. Il faudra un moment de clarification et de rassemblement de tous les Français. Je salue les candidats qui refusent de se laisser aller à ces manœuvres, fidèles à leurs principes”, dit-il regrettant la position de LR à Nice refusant “d’appeler à voter pour le candidat Horizons qui fait face à l’extrême droite”.
08:35 – “Mr Grégoire does not take responsibility”, Dati criticizes the PS’s record in Paris
“This is the first time that I have experienced such a dirty campaign, so outrageous, and so below the belt. Why? Because Mr. Emmanuel Grégoire does not take responsibility for Anne Hidalgo’s record which is his”, explains Rachida Dati, LR candidate for mayor of Paris, on CNews/Europe 1 this Wednesday. “Are we talking about extracurriculars? Of the 100,000 children who are in extracurriculars today exposed to sexual predators that Mr. Grégoire recruited, in his capacity as deputy in charge of human resources (…) Mr. Grégoire never wanted to have the protection of our children as a priority,” she continues.
READ MORE
The results of the 2026 municipal elections are final this Monday morning. Here are the results of the candidates in the main cities of France:
The functioning of municipal elections was previously determined according to the size of the municipalities. In municipalities with less than 1000 inhabitants, it was in fact possible to run alone, as an individual candidate. Voters also had the possibility of crossing out one or more names from the lists proposed to them or of adding them, without this invalidating their ballot. The law of May 21, 2025 put an end to these specificities. It generalized the joint list voting method to all municipalities.
So for the 2026 municipal elections, in all municipalities in France without exception, voters therefore vote for a list with as many names on the list as there are seats to be filled, made up half of men and women. At the end of the first round, if a list has received an absolute majority of the votes cast (50% of the votes plus one), it directly wins half of the seats on the municipal council. And the second half of the positions are distributed proportionally between all the lists having obtained more than 5% of the votes cast (including the one which came first).
The list which achieved the best result in the 2026 municipal elections will be largely favored by this “majority bonus” voting method. If no list obtains more than an absolute majority, a second round must be organized. All lists having received more than 10% of the votes are authorized to participate in this 2nd round. But it is possible to modify these lists by merging them with a list which has more than 5% of the votes cast. At the end of the 2nd round, the seats are distributed in the same way as described above (majority bonus to the list arriving in 1st position then proportional distribution of the remaining seats). The reform therefore impacts the results of the 2026 municipal elections: concrete effect, there will be as many women as men in municipal councils in all municipalities.